The unbearable heaviness of being.
The “Has Something in His Teeth” Agendist
Milan Kundera is a stupid name. There, I said it.
I don’t mention it often, but I was one of those clever children. You get high scores on a test or two and suddenly people expect you to say things and do stuff. Special attention, special classes, special school. Not the helmet kind. The kind where they put you in class with much older people. The other day Mike asked me if I resented it- I don’t. Life is what it is.
Ever since I’ve made it a point to explore alternatives to the status quo. I’m not an (official) academic and I don’t work in the corporate world. I think that’s a victory, because I’m living on my own terms. Albeit in a somewhat classical way.
And a conversation:
E: Maybe I’ve done it all wrong. We should have accepted more invitations for the holidays.
M: Why?
E: I don’t want people to think that I think that I might be better than them and by saying no they might think that.
M: Darling, I think that ship has sailed.
E: No, because it’s not obvious.
M: Hardly plausible if someone’s actually sat down with you.
E: Is this a plausible deniability discussion? Oh, I got myself that book on French law! Principles of French Law By John Bell, Sophie Boyron and Simon Whittaker.
M: Time passes and you get no less strange.
E: You eat dry grains in their dry state in the morning. That’s normal?
My Mazamet 
I used to say of my favorite actresses and actors that I would “watch them eat breakfast.” I am officially adding you two to my list!
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I don’t eat breakfast!
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Great deal of choking laughter…. 😀
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Okay, that was a nice exchange between the two of you. Not depressing at all.
And perhaps Mike should have reminded you–as people his age and mine were constantly reminded–that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I don’t know that any meal could possibly give me the energy to read “Principles of French Law”.
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What? I don’t believe you! You’re a legal scholar. Where stakes are the highest. The law is the practice of logic. I love it.
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And I was EXPECTED to have been the exceptional child. My mother didn’t get to go to college, so it was really important to her that I go and that I get an A in everything (because she would have gotten an A in everything had she been able to go to college). Even now she reminds me how I’m supposed to be so much better than others.
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That sounds exhausting!
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It would be, if I lived up to her expectations
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A learned child with access to schooling is not as exceptional as a child with an education who has no access to schooling. Just a thought. Like the post, got me thinking on education. Hugs
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I think intelligence can be a curse. It’s like knowing there’s a crooked painting somewhere in the house, and nobody else realizes it. Or worse, they won’t let you adjust it.
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Worse because you see crooked paintings everywhere you look, all the time, and you can’t even say anything because it upsets people.
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Strange fruit.
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I was convinced I was a child prodigy until 7th grade when I realized I was quite average. I became suddenly happy, relaxed, and made a bunch of friends.
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I’ve never relaxed. My head nevers stops checking, questioning, reviewing. Is this right? Is it enough? Should I be doing something more or different?
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Oh, well, I am hypercritical too. I don’t think that is bad, it is just a matter of putting limits.
I have two little mantras:
1) I am not the smartest person in the room.
2) I do not have to always form or express an opinion.
Now, I am sure you notice that I am quite bad at practicing both of these, but imagine how much worse I would be if I didn’t have them!
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Is that still the standard text? I imagine it has been brought up to date, if so. I remember it as being written for people with a background of common law which was a great help when plunging into the morass of codes.
i did enjoy the conversation.
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It’s been revised a number of times. I think it’s intended for lawyers, but I feel more comfortable when I know how things work. Understanding Spanish law saved us from a number of problems in Spain, so I want to have the same advantage here 😀
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Quite agree. I did my legal homework in France and have done it again here.
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Ha! Zing!
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It’s worse for women, isn’t it? A combination of the pressure to succeed but also the pressure to succeed less than men. It must be hard to navigate.
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bookmarked!!, I love your website!
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